COVID-19 situation different from Killari quake: Sharad Pawar

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Praising Maharashra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackekray over the COVID-19 management in the state, NCP president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that the situation caused by the devastating earthquake in Killari in 1993 was different from the present pandemic.

Talking to reporters here, he also said that the benefits of the Centre's package aimed at bringing the economy back on track were not yet seen.

Replying to a query that he (Pawar) had shifted the CM Office to Latur after the Killari earthquake, while Thackeray was managing things from home, the former Union minister said, "The situation in Killari was different. That calamity was restricted to one district. But the present crisis has covered the entire state."

Pawar was the chief minister of the state when the earthquake hit Killari in Latur district, in which at least 10,000 people had died.

"If the chief minister goes out everywhere in the state then coordination will be a tough task," Pawar said.

Leaders of the opposition BJP have been targeting Thackeray saying that despite the crisis, he was not stepping out of his house.

Pawar said, "Thackeray has been working hard in this critical phase. The present goverment is doing well in pandemic. The CM is managing things well and he is busy in the coordination all the time."

When asked about the package announced by the Centre to bring the economy back on track, Pawar said, "The benefits of the package were not yet seen."

"But the state government is trying hard to bring back the economy on track," he said.

Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the rate of infection in Aurangabad district has come down to 10 per cent as compared to 26 earlier.

The collector has been authorised to commission staff for COVID-19 management, he said.